Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday met with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo ahead of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Xi said the China-Equatorial Guinea friendship has become increasingly solid with the passage of time, calling it "a fine example of South-South cooperation" and describing the two countries as reliable partners and brothers who have jointly injected new vitality into their comprehensive cooperative partnership.

The president called on both sides to continue to deepen exchanges of experience in governance and ruling party building, and to support each other on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns.

China welcomes Equatorial Guinea's participation in the Belt and Road development and supports Chinese enterprises in actively engaging in infrastructure construction in Equatorial Guinea, Xi said.

China will strengthen communication and cooperation with Equatorial Guinea in human resources development, education, healthcare, tourism and other areas, help the country realize its 2020 development plan, and enhance strategic communication and collaboration at multilateral agencies including the United Nations, the president said.

Noting that this is his 10th visit to China, Obiang called China "an important positive force" on the international arena. He said his country highly values developing the relations with China and firmly pursues the one-China policy.

Obiang thanked China for its long-time help, saying Equatorial Guinea is willing to learn from China's development experience, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and continue to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional affairs.

Equatorial Guinea is full of expectations for the Beijing Summit of the FOCAC and believes the summit will bring even more welfare to the African and Chinese people, Obiang said.

After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.